


Friendship a la Mode

by nweeks3



Series: My Complete Pitch Perfect Story - Part 6 [3]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:42:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25646764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nweeks3/pseuds/nweeks3
Summary: During another Bella get-together, we learn Garrett's backstory from back when he met Emily in high school to when he met Shannon in college.Set in March 2025
Relationships: Aubrey Posen/Original Male Character(s)
Series: My Complete Pitch Perfect Story - Part 6 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1698241
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, starting this story, I'd like to welcome my newest beta SowenElf. She'll be going through my older stories as well. Basically those were written before I had a beta. So, if I ever post any beta'd updates on those stories here on this site, you will know.

One evening, at Aubrey and Chad's house, Aubrey was getting the place ready for some of the Bellas to arrive when Chad came downstairs.

"Uh, I thought our planned get together with the Bellas was cancelled," Chad said.

"It was supposed to be, but Emily insisted we still have it with the Bellas who are still in town," Aubrey explained.

"Why?" Chad asked.

"She said she invited some guests and she wants them to meet the Bellas," Aubrey explained.

"Did she say anything about them?" Chad asked.

"Nope. So, I guess we're in for a surprise later today," Aubrey said before the doorbell rang.

Chad went to answer the door and some of the Bellas entered the house. Emily was last to enter bringing Garrett and Shannon with her.

"Hey, Emily. Are you going to introduce us to your friends?" Aubrey asked.

"Oh, yes. Everyone, this is my best friend from high school, Garrett, and his wife, Shannon," Emily said, introducing them.

"Nice to meet you all," Shannon said.

"Please...come sit down," Aubrey said as Emily, Garrett, and Shannon joined the other Bellas at the table.

"You two have known each other since high school?" Chad asked.

"Yep," Emily said.

"You know, I want to know the whole story. I mean, I know Garrett's only told me bits and pieces, but I am curious," Shannon said.

"Get comfortable, Shannon; because there's a whole lot of the story to share," Emily said.

"When did it start?" Shannon asked.

"It all started during our senior year," Garrett said, prompting a flashback.

**September 12th, 2013**

"Prior to senior year, I was best friends with two other girls. We all met on the high school swim team. But they were seniors when I was a junior. So early on in my senior year, I didn't have anyone to sit with at lunch. That was until I saw Garrett sitting all alone in the cafeteria. I felt sorry for him, so I went to go sit with him," Emily said.

_"Hi." Emily said, approaching Garrett._

_"Hi," Garrett said back to her._

_"May I sit here?" Emily asked, gesturing to the chair across from him while a bright smile lit up her face._

_"Sure," Garrett said, motioning for Emily to sit down._

_"So, why are you sitting by your lonesome?" Emily asked._

_"I have no friends," Garrett said as his eyes dropped to his lunch._

_"Like, none at all?" Emily asked._

_"Well, I did have a best friend last year, but he moved away," Garrett explained._

_"Aww, I'm sorry. No one should ever feel alone," Emily said, frowning sympathetically._

_"I know. I guess I can get rather shy when it comes to meeting people," Garrett explained._

_"Well, you don't have to be shy in front of me. I'd be happy to be your friend," Emily offered._

_"You'd really do that?" Garrett asked._

_"Of course. I'm Emily, by the way," she said, prompting a handshake._

_"Garrett," he said, accepting the handshake._

**Present Day**

"I'll never forget that day in the cafeteria. I remember how kind enough you were to come sit with me at lunch since not many people would," Garrett said.

"You were always a good friend to me in high school. The other kids would've been lucky to know you," Emily said.

"Thank you," Garrett said, smiling.

"I remember you said you had a boyfriend at the time. How was he okay with you hanging out with Garrett?" Chloe asked Emily.

"I'll get to that in a little bit. Anyway, we hung out for the first time after school later that evening and we had such a great time," Emily said, prompting another flashback.

**September 12th, 2013**

"We went to this ice cream stand a few miles away from home because one of Garrett's favorite things to do is get soft serve ice cream. He was grateful that his favorite place hadn't closed for the season yet. He ordered vanilla and I ordered a vanilla/chocolate twist. After we ordered, we sat down at a table to enjoy our ice cream and we really started to get to know each other a bit," Emily continued.

" _How's your ice cream?" Garrett asked._

" _This is one of the best vanilla/chocolate twists in a waffle cone I've ever had," Emily said, with satisfaction._

" _Glad you like it. So, tell me something about you," Garrett said, curious._

" _What do you want to know?" Emily asked._

" _Well, what is something you enjoy doing?" Garrett asked._

" _Well, I enjoy songwriting," Emily said._

" _Really?" Garrett asked._

" _Yeah. One of these days, I want to be a famous singer/songwriter," Emily boasted._

" _Well, maybe one of these days, you ought to show me one of your songs," Garrett suggested, interested._

" _Okay. I don't exactly have my songbook with me, but I'll bring it next time we hang out," Emily said._

" _I look forward to it," Garrett said._

" _So, what about you? I noticed when we met in the cafeteria today, you seemed rather shy and alone. Any particular reason?" Emily asked, curious._

" _Well, it has to do with something hardly anyone knows. It's something that's been bottled up inside of me for 13 years," Garrett said._

" _13 years?!" Emily asked, shocked._

" _Yeah. If I tell you, do you promise not to make it public on the internet?" Garrett asked._

" _I promise," Emily said, assuring him._

" _Okay...when I was three, I was diagnosed with autism," Garrett confessed, prompting another shocked look on Emily's face._

" _What? For real?" Emily asked, concerned._

" _Yes," Garrett confirmed._

" _Wow," Emily said, softly as a smile tilted her lips. "Thanks for sharing that with me. I know it wasn't easy, but I appreciate the trust."_

_Emily could see just how hard it was for Garrett to confess his autism to her, so she stood up holding out her arms offering a hug to which Garrett accepted._

" _Thank you for being so understanding," Garrett said, relieved._

" _Of course. Just one thing, though…" Emily said._

" _Yes?" Garrett asked._

" _Would it be okay if I told my boyfriend about your autism? I want him to be okay with us hanging out twice a week after school," Emily asked._

" _Sure. You can tell him and your parents," Garrett said._

" _Great. Come on, let's finish our ice cream before it melts," Emily said as the two new friends resumed eating._

**Present Day**

"So, when Emily dropped me off at my house after we had our ice cream that night, I introduced her to my parents," Garrett said.

"I remember that first conversation I had with them. They were so grateful that he found a friend," Emily said.

"They noticed how much more happy I've been since she came along to the point where I felt a bit more comfortable and relaxed about going to school every day. Often times if I wanted to talk with someone or sit with them at lunch, I'd have to make the first move. It was nice to have it the other way around for once," Garrett explained.

At that point, Finn came downstairs.

"Daddy, do we have any snacks in the kitchen?" He asked.

"Sure, buddy. Are you hungry?" Chad asked to which Finn nodded.

"Come on; let's see if we have anything in the kitchen you like. Be right back, guys." Chad said as he and his son headed for the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

After Finn had his snack, he went back up to his room and Chad went back to join the others.

"Okay, so where were we?" Chad asked.

"So, the next day during school I told my boyfriend all about Garrett and I told him that he has autism. Much to my surprise, he was so understanding to the point where he was okay with Garrett and I hanging out twice a week after school," Emily said.

"And good thing he was," Garrett added.

"So, what happened after that day?" Aubrey asked, curious.

"Well, thanks to my boyfriend at the time being so understanding about Garrett's struggle, we continued to hang out twice a week after school. Most nights after school, we went to the movies, went bowling, and of course whenever there was a chance to get ice cream, we did that too. Anyway, he was so happy to the point where he was smiling every time we hung out together. But months later, there was a moment when our friendship was on the rocks," Emily said.

"And that was?" Chloe asked.

"I remember a few weeks after Valentine's Day, Garrett took a big chance by asking me to prom. I really liked Garrett and I didn't want him to get hurt, but I did have a boyfriend and I knew I needed to be honest with him," Emily said, prompting another flashback.

**March 7th, 2014**

_After lunch, Garrett followed Emily to her locker._

" _Emily, before I forget, there's something I want to ask you. But I'm afraid of your answer," Garrett said as his hands twisted nervously._

" _Garrett, we've been over this; you should never be afraid to ask me what you want," Emily assured him._

" _I know, it's just hard sometimes," Garrett clarified._

" _I understand. So, what did you want to ask me?" Emily asked as the two approached her locker._

" _Emily Junk...will you go to prom with me?" Garrett asked, very nervously as his face was a swirl of emotion ranging from worried to excited._

_Emily heard the question and thought hard about her response. She was understanding about Garrett's struggle, but at the same time, she wasn't going to cheat on her boyfriend. So what she was about to do was going to be very hard, but at the same time, she knew it had to be done._

" _Garrett, you're a great friend. But, you know I have a boyfriend, right? I'm sorry...I can't go to prom with you," Emily said, apologetically before noticing tears coming out of Garrett's eyes. "Garrett, please don't cry. I'll make it up to you somehow."_

" _You will?" Garrett asked, sniffling while Emily wiped his tears with her finger._

" _Of course I will. Just give me time to think, okay. I have to go to class, but I'll text you later," Emily said before the two friends parted._

**Present Day**

"Rejecting his promposal was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It broke my heart to see him cry like that," Emily said, looking like she might cry herself.

"So, what happened?" Chloe asked.

"Well, like I mentioned to you before, after that failed promposal, Garrett couldn't stop crying for the rest of the school day," Emily recapped.

"Did he make it through the whole day?" Chloe asked.

"No. He ended up going home. I felt terrible. So, I did eventually make it up to him by surprising him later that night," Emily said.

"What did you do?" Aubrey asked.

"I paid Garrett a surprise visit that night to try and cheer him up," Emily said.

"That was really sweet of you," Aubrey said.

"Thank you. If there's anything I learned from being friends with Garrett, it's that the one thing that makes him happy when he's sad is ice cream," Emily said.

"Yeah, ice cream could pretty much cure my sadness anytime," Chloe said.

"So, often times if I pay Garrett a surprise visit, I would bring over a pint of ice cream to share," Emily said.

"It's always so delicious. In fact, there was a certain time Emily came over with ice cream I'll never forget," Garrett added.

"Two months later, on the night of prom, I just finished putting on eye glitter when my boyfriend called me saying that he had the flu. When he talked to me on the phone, I offered to bring him some soup, but he told me it wasn't necessary because he didn't want me to catch whatever he had. So instead, I paid Garrett a surprise visit to his house while still wearing my red prom dress," Emily said, prompting another flashback.

**May 22nd, 2014**

_Garrett could be seen in his bedroom watching "Up" when his phone rang. Much to his surprise, it was Emily. He expected that she'd be too busy on the dance floor at prom to call him, but seeing her name on the caller ID always cheered him up. So, he paused the movie before answering._

" _Hello?" Garrett said, answering._

" _Open your window." Emily said._

" _Why?" Garrett asked._

" _Just do it!" Emily said._

_Garrett did open his window to find Emily standing outside on the front lawn in her red prom dress, carrying a pint of ice cream._

" _What are you doing here? Isn't prom tonight?" Garrett asked, surprised to see her._

" _I didn't go," Emily said._

" _Why?" Garrett asked._

" _My boyfriend has the flu," Emily said._

" _Sorry to hear that," Garrett said, leaning on the edge of the window sill looking down._

" _Can you let me in? I brought ice cream," Emily asked, holding the pint up so he'd see._

" _I'll be right down!" Garrett said, excited._

_He quickly rushed downstairs to open the front door and let Emily in. The two made their way into the kitchen to grab two spoons before heading up to his bedroom._

" _Well, prom may not have worked out tonight, but at least I got to spend it having ice cream with you," Emily said._

" _Yeah. Well, I hope your boyfriend feels better soon," Garrett said._

" _Me too. But for now, let's just enjoy the evening together," Emily said._

_As they were enjoying their ice cream, Garrett eventually unpaused the movie while the two friends passed the pint back and forth. Granted, the evening didn't start the way they both pictured it would, but the two friends sharing ice cream together certainly made the evening an enjoyable one for both._

**Present Day**

"Do you regret blowing off prom?" Shannon asked.

"Not at all. I mean, if I was nominated for Prom Queen, then maybe. But even if I was, I probably wouldn't have gotten the votes," Emily said.

Just then, Shannon started to smell the familiar scent of a dirty diaper.

"Guys, I don't mean to interrupt the story, but I think Lucy needs a diaper change," Shannon said.

"Bathroom's right around the corner," Aubrey said.

"Thanks," Shannon said as she carried Lucy to the bathroom.


	3. Chapter 3

After Shannon returned from the bathroom with Lucy…

"Okay, so where were we?" She asked.

"Meeting Emily and having her as my best friend made my senior year one to remember. I didn't want our friendship to be a come and go one, but seeing as how we went to different colleges, I knew it was bound to end sometime," Garrett said.

"I know Emily got accepted into Barden, but where did you get accepted?" Aubrey asked.

"NYU. I studied computer science and that's how I eventually met Shannon," Garrett said, prompting a flashback.

**August 27th, 2015**

_In a classroom at NYU, Garrett was sitting at his desk in the front row when he noticed Shannon sitting at the desk to his left._

" _Hi," Garrett said, nervously to Shannon._

" _Hi," Shannon said, smiling._

" _I like your shirt," Garrett said, noticing Shannon wearing a Minnie Mouse t-shirt._

" _Thanks," Shannon said._

" _Have you ever been to Disney World before?" Garrett asked._

" _Of course. It's my favorite vacation destination," Shannon said._

" _Mine too. I'm Garrett, by the way," he said, prompting a handshake._

" _Shannon," she said, accepting the handshake. "So, what got you into computers?"_

" _My dad and I put together our very own PC years ago. It was like a father/son bonding project," Garrett explained._

" _Interesting. As for me, I've been interested in computers ever since my dad got me my very first laptop for my 13th birthday," Shannon explained._

" _Do you still have that laptop?" Garrett asked._

" _I traded up when support for Windows XP ended last year," Shannon explained._

" _That's good. Does everything run better on this one?" Garrett asked._

" _Definitely. So, where you from?" Shannon asked._

" _Atlanta, Georgia. You?" Garrett asked._

" _Bristol, Connecticut. I had my heart set on going here since my sophomore year of high school," Shannon explained._

_"So did I. My parents were worried at first about me going away to college, but so far it's been going pretty well," Garrett said._

" _Nice. I'm glad things are working out," Shannon said._

" _Me too," Garrett said._

" _Want to have lunch with me later today?" Shannon asked._

" _Definitely!" Garrett said._

"After that first conversation we had in class, Shannon and I had lunch together everyday. Then after about a week, I finally got the courage to ask her out," Garrett said.

**September 3rd, 2015**

_In the cafeteria, Garrett and Shannon were finishing their lunch when Garrett was prepared to make a bold move, and hoping that unlike his failed promposal from high school, it'd work out in his favor this time. He remembered how his face was of mixed emotions when he tried asking Emily to prom back in high school._

" _Hey, Shannon. I wanted to ask you something," Garrett said._

" _What's up?" Shannon asked._

_This is going to be hard to ask, but I was wondering if you'd want to...I don't know...go out with me sometime," Garrett asked._

" _You mean, like on a date?" Shannon asked._

" _Totally!" Garrett said._

_Shannon gave it some thought before giving Garrett an answer._

" _Sure, I'd love to go on a date with you," Shannon said, prompting a sigh of relief from Garrett._

" _Great. How about I pick you up at your dorm room, say...5:00 tonight," Garrett proposed._

" _Okay. See you tonight," Shannon said before the new couple left the cafeteria._

**Present Day**

"Our first date ended up being one to remember," Garrett said.

"Garrett told me his favorite restaurant was TGI Fridays. So we went there for dinner and then afterwards, we went and got soft serve ice cream," Shannon said.

"I went with my usual vanilla and Shannon ordered a chocolate," Garrett said.

"After we had ice cream, we decided to go for a walk," Shannon said.

"During the walk, we started to share things about each other. It felt so great to find someone that has the same common interests as me," Garrett said.

"At first he didn't have much to share because he wanted to be sure it was going to work out first," Shannon said.

"Looks like things definitely turned out well," Emily said.

"Oh, they did. And it took til our third date for me to realize that," Garrett said, prompting a flashback.

**September 18th, 2015**

"So, for our third date, Garrett let me pick the restaurant. So I decided on us having dinner at Cracker Barrel," Shannon said.

"The dinner went well as usual. During that date, I finally felt confident enough to open up more about myself. Especially as we were leaving the restaurant," Garrett said.

_As Garrett and Shannon were exiting the restaurant..._

" _Shannon, there's something about me I think you should know…" Garrett said._

" _Yeah?" Shannon asked._

" _It's hard for me to talk about with people and it's not something I feel comfortable making public on the internet," Garrett said._

" _Well, what is it? You can tell me," Shannon assured him._

_Garrett tried to keep it together, and not look too nervous, as this was something he wasn't sure how she'd react._

" _When I was three, I was diagnosed with autism," Garrett confessed._

" _Really?" Shannon asked._

" _Yeah. It's been an ongoing struggle in my life," Garrett said._

" _Wow," Shannon said, sympathetically._

" _Does that scare you?" Garrett asked._

" _No, of course not. Come here." Shannon said, grabbing Garrett's hands. "We're going to get through this together. I promise, I'm not going anywhere."_

_Hearing Shannon say those words made Garrett smile. He was grateful that she was so understanding about what he was going through._

" _Thank you," Garrett said as they shared a smile as well as their first kiss._

**Present Day**

"That was one of the best dates of my life," Garrett said.

"I'm glad for you that Shannon was so understanding. You're lucky to have found her," Emily said.

"Yeah, I definitely feel lucky," Garrett said as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Aubrey said, getting up to answer the door.

"Hey, guys. I hope we're not too late," Beca said.

"Not at all. Please come in," Aubrey said as Beca and Jesse did so.

"So, we have some big news to share," Jesse said.

"What is it?" Emily asked.

Beca paused for about five seconds before making the big reveal.

"I'm pregnant!" Beca said.

"Oh, my god. Congratulations!" Aubrey said as the Bellas in attendance joined together for a group hug.

After they broke from the hug, Beca noticed Garrett and Shannon.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't think we've met," Beca said.

"Oh, yes...Beca, this is my best friend from high school, Garrett, and his wife, Shannon," Emily said, introducing them.

"It's nice to meet you, Beca," Shannon said.

"You too," Beca said.

"And congratulations," Garrett said.

"Thank you," Beca said.


	4. Chapter 4

Not long after Garrett and Shannon returned home to their apartment, Shannon gave Lucy a bath before putting her to sleep for the night. Once Lucy was sound asleep, Shannon joined Garrett in their bedroom.

"It was really nice getting to know the Bellas tonight," Garrett said.

"Yeah. It was also nice getting to know what life was like when you and Emily were best friends," Shannon said.

"Yeah. To me, Emily always felt like an angel sent down to me from God," Garrett admitted.

"But I'm a bigger one, right?" Shannon asked.

"You betcha," Garrett assured her.

"You know, that story really brought me back to when we met in college. But there's a certain day I'll never forget," Shannon said, prompting a flashback.

**May 27th, 2018**

_At Shannon's graduation party, Garrett got the attention of all the guests by clicking on a glass as he prepared himself for what he was waiting to do for so long. He nervously took deep breaths while checking his pocket to make sure the ring was still there. He rehearsed this so many times prior to this day and didn't want to forget the most important part._

" _Shannon Lexington, before we first met that day during our sophomore year in college, I thought I was going to spend my entire time at college alone. But then you came along and showed me that even with my struggle, it's still possible to find love. And now after three years of dating, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, Shannon Lexington...will you marry me?" Garrett asked as Shannon looked at the ring feeling speechless for a few seconds before giving an answer._

" _YES! Of course I will!" Shannon happily said as Garrett put the ring on Shannon's finger and they shared a kiss as the party guests cheered for the newly engaged couple._

"And who could forget the day we got married," Garrett said, prompting another flashback.

**September 4th, 2021**

_On the day of Garrett and Shannon's wedding…_

" _Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony," The minister said._

" _Do you Garrett Barnes take Shannon Lexington to be your lawfully wedded wife?" He asked._

" _I do," Garrett said._

" _And do you Shannon Lexington take Garrett Barnes to be your lawfully wedded husband?" The minister asked._

" _I do," Shannon said._

" _By the power vested in me by the state of Connecticut, I now pronounce you two husband and wife," The minister said._

_The newly married couple kissed as everyone else in the chapel cheered for them._

**Present Day**

"I hope we have more happy memories like these to come," Shannon said.

"Me too," Garrett said.

"I love you, Garrett," Shannon said.

"I love you too, Shannon," Garrett said as the couple shared a kiss.

THE END!


End file.
